Olga > Recent Status Updates

A great escape from reality. Of course, I am addicted to this series.
But in this book I am annoyed by too many scenes of battles (I am not a fan of "action" but many readers might like that).
Also I feel that the author uses "Deus ex machina" trick too many times: there appear to be frequent new rules which have not been set up ahead of time but are all of a sudden used to solve problems.

As much as I hate JKR for her politics, I can't help myself and will listen to this audiobook - borrowed from the library.

Love it!!!!
I enjoy AMS whatever he writes.
But having just last month travelled to Edinburgh (and Glasgow!) now this series has even more meaning. Unlike Bertie, I found Edinburgh to be a lot more interesting than Glasgow. We even went to a delightful restaurant named ... "Bertie's" in Edinburgh. The waitress said that it's named for their owner but that everybody there knows about Bertie from 44 Scotland street!

Очень интересно, замечательно написано.
К сожалению, я не могу найти продолжением аудиокниги. Пробовала разные сайты, и бесплатно, и за деньги, но нашла только фрагменты. Буду ещё искать.

I am sort of struggling....
I have been a fan of Jodi Picoult for many years.
Plus, I love Shakespeare. And theater. And women's stories. And history.
I am quite impressed by the scholarship that is evident here.
But ... it feels like a YA book. No depth.
I wish she stayed away from sex scenes (and I like erotica) or learned to write them with actual passion.
So far .... meh ...
Unexpectedly.

I am enjoying this romp although it is different from other books by this author in that here she ring up many references to popular culture (movies, books, paintings) rather than just retelling myths with new interpretation.
It is fun but not for everyone.
I am surprised that in the chapter about the muses there is no mention of the delightful comedy
The Muse https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_M...

Loving this. Love this author.
But this story is SO hard that I periodically take breaks and dip into "fluff" ("Native Tongue")
Stories of the Trojan women are all unending tragedies.
Some questions.
In chapter 4 there is the story of Laodamia, the epitome of true love, who committed suicide rather than lose her husband.
Why is there no mention of her husband having tried to marry Helen.

Well, midway through the book it got a lot more interesting. Bodies are stacking up. Actual thriller/mystery is finally heating up.
Too bad it took SO long to get started.
Will keep going.

I am a huge fan of Bohjalian since "The Midwives", so 20 years or so.
But .... can't really get excited about this one.
Maybe it's the audiobook (confusing, multiple narrators, very similar voices....), and the two main characters having almost interchangeable names Betsy and Chrissy (they are adult women, time is 2024, so why are being referred to by old-fashioned little girl names?). 3 murders but no stories ..

I like Scottoline's legal thrillers, where she has attractive characters and interesting stories.
Her standalone novels are often tedious and derivative. So far it seems to be the case here :(

So grateful to my early 30s daughter-in-law for suggesting this book.
If it wasn't for her, I would not have chosen this book.
The first few chapters I felt confused and a bit frustrated. Being an older cis-woman, I make efforts to "get it", but felt as if it was thrown into a whirlpool.
Now I got to the "juvenile elephants" metaphor, and now it all makes sense.

I had not realized this one is so different from other books by Backman, which are often described as "whimsical".
Heavy.

On an unrelated note: the am slightly surprised that many characters' names are so "Russian": Katja, Maya, Leo, Anna... even though they are Swedes.

Just a quick note. Might be a bit of a spoiler.
So poignant and ironic how Brunetti contemplates that Americans throw so much money away.... and his whole take on the Americans. Especially cute since the author is American!

- Men choose to deceive themselves about what they do. Women about what other people do.
- Sounds like men have a better deal.
- They always do, - she replied.

(Donna Leone. "A Sea if Troubles").

Enjoying it very much.
Love the narrator as well.
What a great entertainment: smart, original, like time travel fantasies, only this is about a person, a albatross, as the story refers to him and others like him, who live almost indefinite life times.
So far I've been through the Huguenots escaping from France, witch trial in England, Shakespeare, the Plague etc., as well as America, 20th and 21st century....

Not my favorite Bohjalian's book.
I have been addicted to this author for decades.
So happy that I had met him and his actor daughter Grace Experience once at the Capital Repertory Theater, where she was performing in "Some people hear thunder" (look it up).
So this novel us full of drama, but ...
So far I have not seen anything we have not seen before, e.g. "Crucible".

Конечно, мне рано оставлять отзыв, я дошла до середины.
Мне любопытно, как Акунин описывает выборы.
И фейк новости, и опросы населения, и куча политических манёвров... Даже красные шапки! (Трамп).
Я не могу судить об исторической достоверности, и об российской политике, но процесс "демократии" описан интересно. Я это восприняла как сатиру. Не знаю, это ли имел в виду автор

Just as I was thinking myself so smart for recognizing "Alfie" as a movie character, that the reference was explicitly explained in the book :)

What a delight so far.
Lots of tongue in cheek "Easter eggs" - Bunburry, Aunt Augusta, Oscar, Windermere, all would be easy to get for any Wilde lover.
Now I heard of a person named Fry - could this be a reference to Stephen Fry who played Oscar Wilde?
So given these "gifts" in just the first few chapters, I am already loving it. I cannot care less about the actual mystery.

Enjoying it as an audiobook.
I started it because of my attachment to Eleanor of Acquitane. I am a bit obsessed with her due to English ballads (Queen Eleanor) and Shakespeare. I even played her in an amateur "King John".
Glad to learn that a lot of awful stuff (murders of grandkids etc) were never confirmed historically. Same with King John. I am not in love with him, but he comes across so much more worthy here.

https://youtu.be/IGl2V66YYVE

Too soon to review. I am addicted to Picoult, so getting this audiobook was a no-brainer for me.
Not crazy about the narrator (or editor?).
How could she not bother to google how to pronounce Egyptian gods names?
The first time I heard "ray" instead of "Rah", I did not trust her already. So easy to google.

Just realized that the events in this book take place in the summer of 1979, the same time I undertook the same journey as a 20 y.o. Moscow girl. Emigrated alone to America, to reunite with my boyfriend who had left with his parents a year prior. My parents and grandparents were refused exit visas until several years later.

Love it! So funny, so true.